Route 197 widening project put on hold

Bowie drivers who must wait in traffic every day while traveling Route 197 will have to wait a little longer. Plans to widen the road have been put on hold by the state because of a lack of money.

Bowie drivers who must wait in traffic every day while traveling Route 197 will have to wait a little longer. Plans to widen the road have been put on hold by the state because of a lack of money. (John McNamara / Capital Gazette)

Bowie drivers frustrated by rush-hour traffic jams along Route 197 will be waiting a lot longer than the length of a traffic light for relief.

The State Highway Administration's plans to widen the road from two lanes two four — unveiled to Bowie residents a year ago — have been put on hold due to a lack of money.

Members of the city's planning staff learned on Sept. 1 that the draft of the state's long-term Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) no longer shows money for the engineering phase of the Route 197 project.

Initially, $11 million in engineering funds were included in the budget for FY 2018.

However, the state's Department of Transportation, which oversees SHA, is facing a $746 million budget shortfall this year. The state's take from the gasoline tax was much smaller than expected because of the drop in the price of fuel in recent months, SHA officials said.

"We're hoping the funding picture improves down the road and that way we can get the project back in (the budget)," said SHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar.

The state has never approved construction funding for the Route 197 project. Consequently, it could be years away from construction even without the latest delay. Still, the loss of money for engineering was a disappointment to Bowie officials.

"It would be really nice to see some improvement over there," said acting city manager John Fitzwater, who lives near the southbound lanes of Route 197.

Route 197 and Route 3 are the two major north-south roads that carry Bowie residents back and forth from Route 50. During rush hour each day, both routes are clogged with more cars than planners ever envisioned for that area. A city with 37,000 residents in 1990 is approaching 60,000 today. According to city documents from 2014, Route 197 handled an average of 31,400 vehicles per day in 2013. By 2030, that average is projected to grow to more than 57,000.

"This effectively puts the project on hold, and it's an indefinite hold," said Bowie Mayor G. Frederick Robinson. "The first thing we have to do is find out if there's any alternative and — depending on how that resolves itself — we'll have to sit down and see what the next step is."

Robinson plans to contact Gov. Larry Hogan to see what can be done to restore money for the project. Robinson also said he planned to enlist the help of the Bowie delegation in the state legislature to see what steps could be taken to get things moving again.

"It may be that it's an irrevocable decision," he said.

Plans called for widening the road from two lanes to four throughout a 1.4-mile stretch between Kenhill Drive and Route 450. The plans also called for turn lanes at the intersections, as well as a median strip in the middle and bikes lanes along the shoulder.

But the project as designed would require acquiring land from those whose homes line the road. It would also involve moving power and utility lines. Any of those projects could create problems or stall the process — even if the state decides to fully fund the project, according to city officials.